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“I have a defective valve in my aorta, and that sharpens my interest” in aortic disease, said Aikens, who graduated from the University of Michigan Law School in 1954. “It is not the only reason I am supportive of this. Michigan doesn’t have this, and it should have it at this time.”

The Aikens’ gift will allow the university to build a hybrid surgical suite, which combines radiology and surgery, that is expected to advance research toward curing aortic disease, said Kim Eagle, M.D., director of the cardiovascular center and Aikens’ cardiologist.

“In order to offer this safe and more effective option, as well as attract industry partners, we must invest in facilities that provide flexible and complex operating space,” Eagle said in a statement.

Two years ago, the Aikens donated $10 million to the law school to create the Robert B. Aikens Commons. The couple also has donated to UM’s Penny W. Stamps School of Art & Design, where Ann Aikens earned a bachelor of fine arts degree in 2002.

The Aikens’ gift is part of UM’s recently launched $4 billion Victors for Michigan fundraising campaign. One-quarter of the campaign is intended to support medical research, patient care and education.

Last year, the Samuel and Jean Frankel Foundation gave UM $25 million that allowed the cardiovascular center to be renamed in the late couple’s honor. In 2007, the foundation gave an anonymous $25 million gift to the university to support cardiovascular care.

With the Aikens gift, the University of Michigan Health System will match the support for the capital project. The project is expected to be completed in 2015. It is UM's third hybrid operating room.

The project will enable minimally invasive repair of heart valves and treatment of arrhythmias, aortic aneurysms and coronary arteries. Recovery time is faster with less invasive procedures.

“Technology is changing how we think about and treat health problems,” said G. Michael Deeb, M.D., a cardiac surgeon and director of UM’s Multidisciplinary Aortic Clinic, in a statement.